It was the last day of the Carnaval weekend. The day started in a confuse way because the time to leave the hotel was changed to half hour early and some us got late. Also, we were instructed to wear old clothes and bring a change to the end of the day. We were going to a carnaval parade in Piracicaba at Santa Olimpia, a traditional community that is mainly composed of Italian decedents. As soon as we arrived there, we were able to see the strong Italian heritage by the architecture of the church and houses.
We were received by Joyce, the other host student of the program, who is a resident of the neighborhood. She took us to her grandparent’s house where we could leave our backpacks. Mister Geraldo, Joyce’s grandfather, is one of the oldest residents of the community. He proudly says that his family was one of the founders of the community more than 100 years ago. He also told me that just 10 different families used to live in the community until 30 years ago.
Before
Soon we left to the square in front of the church were the celebration would start. The local priest explained the origin of the festivity. The celebration, called “Cucagna”, was a traditional festivity that celebrated the beginning of a new season in Italy. Since the weather is different in the south hemisphere, it became their carnaval celebration. In Italy, the community would get together and cook a special dish, cucagna. To collect the food, they used to paint their faces with ashes and walk in the neighborhood asking for donations in every house. The Cucagna evolved in Brazil and became one of the funniest carnaval celebrations in Piracicaba. The ashes became mud/dirt and the food collection became the parade.
After the explanation, the parade started. We walked around the neighborhood following a band playing carnaval music for hours. Since it was our first time in the celebration, we were baptized. In other words, we had to take a bath of mud/dirt. They served wine during the parade and had some food stops were we could have some sandwiches. The parade was one of the funniest parts of our trip. I was really happy to see the how well our group could interact and communicate with the Brazilians during the celebration. They met many different people and made plenty of new friends.
During
In the end of the parade, we went back to Joyce’s grandparents’ house and took a shower before we ate. Half an hour later, we were back to the square to have the famous cucagna. I loved the cucagna but some of us didn’t like it. I can say it was a great cultural experience. We had the unique opportunity to learn about the tradition, the community and also to have a lot of fun.
Blake getting Sarah back for throwing mud.
After